FILE PHOTO: Vanity Fair Oscar Party 2018 – Arrivals – Beverly Hills, California, USA, 04/03/2018 – Amazon CEO Jeff and wife MacKenzie Bezos. REUTERS / Danny Moloshok
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.OBillionaire chief executive Jeff Bezos has donated $ 1.7 billion of his wealth in the past year to causes including racial equality, LGBTQ rights, public health and climate change, he said in a blog post Tuesday.
Scott, who was previously known as MacKenzie Bezos, also announced her new last name, which she says was taken from her middle name.
Last year, Scott signed the Donation Pledge in a pledge to donate most of his fortune after his separation from Bezos, the world’s richest man, who left him with a 4% stake in Amazon.
“Like many, I saw the first half of 2020 with a mix of heartbreak and horror,” he wrote in a Medium post.
“I started working to fulfill my promise with the belief that my life had produced two assets that could be of particular value to others: the money these systems helped me deliver and the belief that people who have experience with inequalities they are the best. equipped to design solutions, “he added.
At the time of the divorce, his stake was worth around $ 36 billion. Her fortune has grown to more than $ 60 billion with a jump in Amazon stock this year.
Scott made his announcement the day before Jeff Bezos appears for his first testimony before Congress in front of an antitrust panel, which has been investigating how Amazon has used its market power to harm its smallest rivals.
Report by Nandita Bose in Washington; Edited by David Gregorio
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